Hat hanger



Feb. l5, 1944. W F, M|NCEINBERG I 2,341,643

HAT HANGER Filed NOV. 24, 1943 Patented Feb. 15, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE 2,341,643

HAT HANGER William F. Mincenberg, Miami, Fla.

Application November 24, 1943, Serial No. 511,632

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a hat hanger and it is one object of the invention to provide a hat hanger formed entirely of a strand of resilient wire, the wire strand being so bent that it forms a hat-engaging loop having a shank extending therefrom and bent to form an upstanding hook for suspending the hanger from a nail, hook, rod, or similar support.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hat hanger formed of a wire strand and wherein the loop for fitting within the crown of a hat is expansible and contractible, thus permitting the loop to be contracted for insertion within a hat and then expanded to frictionally grip the crown of the hat.

Another object of the invention is to so bend the wire strand that a slip joint is formed at ends of the loop-forming portion of the strand, the joint being of such formation that while the loop may be easily contracted and then expanded, due to the resiliency of the wire, sliding ofend portions of the loop will be lmited and also sliding movement thereof guided.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of the improved hat hanger.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the hat hanger.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the hat hanger in use.

This improved hat hanger is formed from a single strand of resilient wire and referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, it will be seen that the major portion of the strand forms a loopv I from which extends a rearwardly projecting shank 2. When manufacturing the hanger, the strand is bent to form an eye 3 at the front end of the shank and then bent at 4 to dispose the shank rearwardly of the loop, after which the loop is formed and the free end oi the loop-forming portion passed through thev eye 3 and its extremity bent to form an eye 5 which engages about the anchored end oi the loop and projects forwardly in offset relation to the eye 3 so that portions of the strand forming the loop may easily slide through the two eyes during contraction and expansion of the loop. Since the eye 5 cannot move past the bend 4 of the strand, expansion of the loop will be limited and, during expansion and contraction of the loop, movement of the upper portions of the loop relative to each other will be guided. In addition to guiding and limiting movement of the upper portions of the loop, the eyes also constitute projections for engaging portions of the hat and resisting movement of the hat off the loop.

After the loop has been formed, the portion of the strand forming the shank is bent to form a hook 6 which projects upwardly from the rear end of the shank and has a relatively large rearwardly and downwardly extending bill 1 for engaging over a support such as the bar or rod 8 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

While the hook has been shown engaged with the supporting bar, it will be understood that it may engage a nail, hook, or the like.

Referring to Fig. 3 of the drawing, it will be noted that the shank 2 is of such length that the hanger will extend into the crown of a hat 9 to such an extent that the loop l will be disposed inwardly of the sweat band I0 and abutting engagement of the loop and its eyes with the edge of the sweat band will very effectively prevent the hat from slipping from the loop.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A hat hanger comprising a strand of resilient wire bent for the major portion of its length to form a loop of a diameter adapting it to fit within the crown of a hat, a portion of the strand being bent to form a shank extending rearwardly from an end of the loop and integral with said end of the loop, said shank being bent near its junction with the loop to form an eye, the free end portion of the loop being passed through the eye and at its extremity bent to form a second eye offset forwardly of the first eye and slidably receiving the fixed end portion of the loop, said eyes serving to guide and limit sliding movement of upper portions of the loop relative to each other during contraction and expansion of the loop, and said shank being bent upwardly to form a hook having a support-engaging bill at its upper end.

2. A hat hanger comprising a strand of resilient wire bent to form a loop and a shank extending rearwardly from the top'of the loop, said shank having its forward portion bent to form an eye through which a free end portion of the loop slidably passes, said free end portion of the loop having its extremity bent to form a second eye slidablyreceivng the attached end portion of the loop, said eyes guiding and limiting sliding of the end portions of the loop relative to each other during contraction and expansion of the loop and constituting members projecting from the loop for engaging portions of a hat disposed about the loop and assisting in retaining the hat in place about the loop, and a member extending upwardly from said shank for suspending the hanger from a support.

3. A hat hanger comprising a. strand of reslient wire bent to form a loop and a. shank extending rearwardly from an end of the loop at the top thereof and carrying a member for suspending the hanger from a, support, the portion of the strand forming the shank being bent to form an eye through which a free end portion of the loop slidably passes, and the extremity of the free end of the loop being bent to form a second eye through which the attached end of the loop slidably passes, said eyes serving to n guide and limit movement of the end portion of the loop during contraction and expansion of the loop.

WILLIAM F. MINCENBERG. 

